Telescopic umbrella

ABSTRACT

An umbrella having a shaft, a crown at one end and a plurality of coil-spring type stays extending radially from the stick for forming the cover in a mushroom when the umbrella is being closed and shortened. However the stays are such that they can be bent within the confines of the umbrella, that is they can be resiliently bent to where their outer collective periphery could be as small as, if not greater than that of the crown without the stays being kinked.

United States Patent Weber July 29, 1975 1 TELESCOPIC UMBRELLA 3.467,! 9/1969 Brooks et al... 135/25 R 3,693,643 9/1972 Weber 135/26 [75] memo web", Hldeht Germany 3.785.388 1/1974 Schafer 135/20 R [73] Assignee: Telesco Brophey Limited, Montreal,

Canada Primary Examiner-J. Karl Bell Attorney, Agent, or FirmRobert E. Mitchell; Alan [22] Filed. Dec. 5, 1973 swabey [2]] Appl. N0.: 421,953

[57] ABSTRACT Foreign Application Priority Data An umbrella having a shaft, a crown at one end and a Dec. 7, 1972 Germany 2259874 plurality of Coil-Spring type Stays extending radially from the stick for forming the cover in a mushroom [52 us. Cl 135/25 R when the umbrella is being elesed and Shortened- [51 Int. (:1. AB 19/00 However the Stays are Sueh that they eeh be bent [58] Field of Search /20-26 Within the eehfihes 0f the umbrella that is they eeh be resiliently bent to where their outer collective periph- [56] References Cited ery could be as small as, if not greater than that of the UNITED STATES PATENTS crown without the stays being kinked. 2,443,772 6/l948 Mappin 135/26 9 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTED JUL 2 9 I975 SHE PATENTE JUL29 I975 sum 4 3 896 83 3 1 TELESCOPIC UMBRELLA BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The invention relates to a telescopic umbrella with a telescoping shaft, a main slider, running on the shaft, for bringing about pivoting movement of the spokes, and a system of resilient stays for bringing about folding in the form of a mushroom of the canopy fabric on shortening or telescoping together the umbrella.

2. Description of the Prior Art Such spreading devices for bringing about mushroom folding are provided in the case of telescopic umbrellas in order to ensure that on collapsing the umbrella and telescoping together of the umbrella shaft as far as possible only longitudinal folds and no transverse folds are formed, since transverse folds would hamper collapsing of the umbrella and might even lead to the formation of a ball. The longitudinal folds are necessary for formation of the characteristic mushroom shape of the canopy fabric.

Such mushroom spreading means in various constructions are described in the West German Pat. Nos. 1,226,255 and 1,234,831. In the case of one embodiment of the Pat. No. 1,226,255, the proposal has already been made to clamp the stays, which are made of steel wire between the ring plate, forming the ring attachment for the spokes, and the screw cap, which precisely overlaps the ring plate and represents a part of the crown. This construction, however, involves an increase in the cross-sectional size adjacent to the crown, since, on the one hand, it is not possible to achieve such a small radius of bending that the increase in size practically corresponds only to twice the crosssection of the resilient stays arranged diametrally opposite to each other.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One aim of the invention is to provide an umbrella of the type described which is reliable in operation and is simple from the point of view of production techniques. Furthermore, the resilient stays arranged in the crown zone should not lead to production of a bulge which would create difficulties as regards insertion into a case, this being achieved despite the arrangement in a manner stable in use of such a spreading system.

The present invention consists in a telescopic umbrella with a telescoping shaft, a main slider, running on the shaft, for bringing about pivoting movement of the spokes, and a system of resilient stays for bringing about folding in the form of a mushroom of the canopy fabric on shortening or telescoping together the umbrella, characterized in that the mushroom forming spreading stays extend below the crown from an annular part which has a smaller cross-section than the crown.

With such a construction, an umbrella of the type described is created which has a reliably operating spreading system for automatic mushroom formation in the crown zone. On pressing in the crown and the concomitant displacement of the fabric of the canopy, the resilient spreading stays, which are moved back more and more in a position perpendicular to the positions they occupy when extended; lift the piece of fabric at this position in order finally to mould it into the mushroom shape. These mushroom forming spreading stays extend from an annular 'p'art 'of t'he crown which is smaller in cross-section. They are fixed, anchored as they are, in this material section which is set back with respect to the general or overall breadth of the crown. This ensures in a reliable manner that the spreading stays are not bent to an excessive extent, that is to say, brought into a radius of bending, which might involve impairment of the returning action, perhaps giving rise to permanent bending. Instead there is only a bending operation which does not exceed the limit of elasticity. The corresponding construction also does not lead to an increase in cross-section in the folded condition. The same aim. that is to say, that of the least possible cross-sectional size, is achieved by the use of the further constructional feature adopted of arranging the spreading stays in gaps between the struts or spokes respectively. The feature of making the spreading stays of helical springs which can be bent resiliently without kinking leads to an extremely long lasting construction which is extremely stable in use. If the spring coils of such a helical spring are held in their normal position in a kinked condition, such a spreading stay possesses the required degree of resistance to permanent kinking even in the case of a long length. Naturally, in the case of specific constructions, there is the possibility of fixing the free end of the spreading stays on the canopy. The corresponding seams can then be arranged even in the case of a slight bending of the spreading stays advantageously adjacent to the seams in the canopy. For the construction of suitable hooks for sewing-on the spring, the terminal spring coil can be bent into the central plane of the spreading stay. Such a construction involves the simultaneous advantage that a relief or rounding, preventing piercing the fabric by the spreading stays is ensured. The ring part attachment can be brought about by injection moulding around the spreading stays, by screwing in of the latter, or by the use of adhesive for attachment.

The mushroom spreading means in accordance with the invention can be used on a conventional telescoping umbrella, that is to say, an umbrella in the case of which the spokes and the umbrella shaft itself are made exclusively so as to be capable of being shortened telescopically. As, however, the preferred embodiment, described in detail in what follows, shows, such a mushroom spreading means can be used even in a type of umbrella in the case of which telescopically operating spokes are not absolutely essential.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be described in detail having reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. I shows the umbrella in an opened condition in a substantially diagrammatic manner in which the mushroom spreading system in accordance with the invention has been emphasized;

FIG. 2 shows the umbrella in an enlarged fragmentary in the opened condition;

FIG. 2a is a further enlarged cross-section through the auxiliary slider;

FIG. 3 telescopic umbrella the umbrella in the closed but extended condition;

FIG. 4 shows the umbrella in the closed or folded and shortened condition, however, in order to show the umbrella more clearly, the support system and the spokes have not yet been brought into the closed or folded condition adjacent to the shaft;

FIG. shows a detail of the mushroom spreading means on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 showing a different type spring; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged section taken substantially on the plane of line 77 of FIG. 6 showing the spring that has an eliptical cross section.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The umbrella is provided with an umbrella shaft 1. The latter consists of two tube parts 2 and 3 which can slide into each other in a telescoping fashion.

Both tube parts 2 and 3 have a polygonal and in the present case a hexagonal cross-section. A detent 4 limits the length to which the umbrella shaft can be drawn out.

The tube part 2, which runs in the tube part 3 in a manner preventing mutual rotation, is provided at one end with a handle 5.

The other end of the umbrella shaft, that is to say the tube part 2 with the larger cross-section has the crown 6.

Towards this crown 6 spokes or ribs 7 are directed with an even angular distribution. The spokes 7 consist each of the spoke portion 7b proper and a lug 14. The portion A between the lug l4 and the crown 6 is free of spokes.

This section A is covered freely by the portion, adjacent to the crown 6, of the canopy fabric. This fabric is anchored at the umbrella crown 6. Furthermore, the canopy fabric 20 is attached to the respective lugs 14, which are drawn in in their center portions so that a sewing on loop or eye 21 is arranged in a fixed manner so that substantially no sliding movement is possible. Furthermore, the canopy fabric 20 is fixed at the ends 23 of the spoke portion 711 of the respective spoke 7.

Main slider struts 25 lead to the main slider 24, in the form of part of the support system S supporting each spoke, engages a pivot joint 16. The joint connection on the main slider side is formed by the conventional ring attachment 26. This main slider 24 slides on the umbrella shaft 1. Its central through passage or bore 24' is complementary to the polygonal cross-section of the tube part 3, adjacent to the crown, of the umbrella shaft 1.

Furthermore, on the umbrella shaft, lying between the crown 6 and the main slider 24, an auxiliary slider 27 is provided. This slider also has its bore or hole 27' made to complement the cross-section of the tube part 3 so as to prevent mutual rotation, i.e., relative-rotation on the umbrella shaft 1.

There extends from the auxiliary slider 27 an additional or auxiliary struts 29. In this case, as well as the pivoting joint is formed by a conventional attachment. Each additional strut 29 is pivotally connected at 30 in an articulating manner intermediately of the main slider strut 25.

An auxiliary or additional link 31 extends from another pivot joint 15 on the lug 14. The link 31 is bent slightly at 32 and lies against the canopy material between the latter and the main slider strut 25. The auxiliary link 31 lies substantially parallel to this strut 25 and it is connected at a distance from the joint 30, which is equal to approximately half the distance between the pivot joints I5 and 16 of the lug 14. This pivot joint or connection point is denote. by reference numeral 33. The additional link is made of steel wire. The end portions adjacent to the joint are flattened. The additional strut 29 is made of U-crossseetion material so that the additional link 31 tits at least partly in this U-shaped space in the collapsed or folded condition of the umbrella frame.

The additional link 31 and part of the main slider strut 25 form the longer links, while the lug l4 and part of the additional strut 29 form the shorter links of a link parallelogram P controlling the movements of the mechanism and stabilizing the canopy.

The spoke section or rib portion 7b is thus connected with the lug 14 so that the end portion, directed outwards, of the latter, forms a sleeve 34 which closely fits around this spoke portion. The end, projecting into the U-shaped cavity of this lug 14, of the spoke portion is additionally fixed by a dent 35 in the limbs 19 of this part of the lug which has a U-profile or cross-section.

The main slider 24 is extended axially adjacent to the ring attachment 26 as a sleeve portion 36' and this portion 36 forms an abutment limit will for the main slider. The abutment limit abut against the lower end face of the auxiliary slider 27, which is provided with a depending sleeve 27" and the slider 27 is limited at its upper end by an annular part 50 with respect to its sliding movement.

Approximately perpendicularly to the shaft axis y-y this annular part 50 carries spreading stays 51 which are arranged with the same angular spacing between them. The spreading stays 51 are arranged in the gaps of the additional or auxiliary struts 29 lying underneath them, an arrangement which offers the advantage that the spreading stays in the collapsed or folded condition of the umbrella frame (see FIG. 4) can come to lie between the component groups formed by the spokes and the struts and accordingly do not lend to an increase in the size of the cross-section of the umbrella frame.

The annular part 50 is reduced in cross-section vis-avis the crown 6, something which on the one hand is in line with the desire to achieve the smallest possible frame cross-section in the collapsed condition, and however on the other hand involves the advantage that the position adjacent to the crown at which the canopy fabric 20 is attached still involves a sufficiently large area of canopy fabric arranged between the screw-on top 53 and the portion, greater in cross-section, of the annular part.

The reduction in cross-section of the annular part 50 in size vis-a-vis the crown 6 is in accordance with the space requirements of the radius of bending of the stays 51.

The spreading stays 51 can be made of helical spring material. These springs are attached at the crown, for example, by injecting plastic material around them, adhesion, or simply by screwing in or the like. The last coil 51' of the free end of the respective helical spring is, as can be gathered from FIG. 5, bent in such a manner that a closed projecting coil portion is obtained which, as a result, avoids damage to the canopy fabric 20. Furthermore, the bent coils 51' can be used as sewing on eyes or loops if anchoring of the ends of the spreading stays on the canopy material should be intended. This sewing on is preferably carried out adjacent to the seams of the canopy fabric. The helical coil of the spring lie in a flexed position, that is to say, they make contact with each other in the extended position of the stays. The helical spring coils, 51 could also be flattened in their cross-section for the purpose of still further reducing the size of the umbrella in its closed position as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 at 51".

One of the additional struts 29 has an opening aid in the form of a brake pawl. The latter is set into the U- shaped cavity of this strut and is fixed by drawing in the U-limbs of the strut. The pawl head 54' extends through an opening or window 55 of the auxiliary slider sleeve 27". In the folded position, shown in FIG. 3, of the canopy the pawl head 54 will lie against a corresponding wall portion of the tube part 2 with the exertion of a certain gripping or pining force. By depressing in a locking button 37 having locking head 37', then the head 37' moves from a detent opening 56 adjacent to the handle, the main slider 24 can then be displaced towards the crown 6. In the initial phase of this displacement of the main slider 24, the auxiliary slider 27 is first held in a non-sliding condition by the braking pawl 54, whose head 54' fits into a detent or recess.

If the integral moulding on one of the stays on the annular part 50 should be preferred, it is possible to achieve in this manner a component which can easily be produced and used. The stays 51 can also have a cross-section facilitating holding of the extended position and may also be provided with reinforcements.

The main slider strut 25 and the additional strut 29 come out of their position adjacent to the shaft 2, 3 into a position which becomes more and more oblique so that the pawl head 54 is moved out from stick 2. Following this, the auxiliary slider 27 is displaced further upwards. The canopy spokes 76 are, in this respect, so driven by the link parallelogram P that they come into the raised position, the unfolded position shown in FIG. 2. In the final phase, the auxiliary slider 27 finally abuts against the annular part 50. The expanded position (see FIG. 2) is held owing to the fact that the head 37' of the locking head 37' fits into a detent or recess Ra (FIG. 4) provided on the tube part 2.

If the umbrella is to be collapsed or folded, the locking button 37 is released, the main slider 24 can then be displaced until it is immediately adjacent to the handle. In this respect the support system S comes into the position shown in FIG. 3. The canopy fabric 20 is arranged substantially over the entire length of the shaft 1 and lies around it without the spreading stays 51 being able to push out the portion A of the canopy adjacent to the crown. The spreading stays are instead folded into a position generally parallel to the shaft axis This umbrella can be placed, like a conventional umbrella, in an umbrella stand. The formation of folds, a tangle, or ball of the canopy material, which would impair drying, for example, is avoided. In order to bring the umbrella into the shortened condition or telescoped state, it is then only necessary, just as is the case with conventional pocket umbrellas, to press the crown 6 downwards towards the handle 5, which leads to a shortening in length of the umbrella shaft 1. The tube part 3 can be held together with the spokes and struts firmly by placing the hand around them. The crown in this case comes closer to the auxiliary slider 27. A fold is now formed in the canopy material or fabric 20 adjacent to the portion between the crown and the auxiliary slider 27 of the fabric. The spreading stays 51 then prevent in a positive manner, damage to the fabric, a pining of the shaft portions at this position between the links and struts moving towards each other. Instead, the mushroom P1 is formed as is shown in FIG. 4. By hand or by pushing the shortened umbrella into a case, the spreading stays 51 are folded back in the direction of the shaft. Owing to the fact that the stays lie in the gaps of the additional struts 29 and are furthermore pivoted on a set-back ring part section, the stays 51 will lie in a space-saving manner, in the free angular spaces between two respective such struts so that a very small umbrella cross-section is achieved.

I claim:

1. In a telescopic umbrella including a telescopic shaft, a crown at one end of the shaft, spokes adapted to pivot relative to the crown a cover attached to the crown and the spokes, at least a main runner mounted on the shaft, support means operatively connected between said main runner and said spokes for effecting pivoting movement of said spokes relative to said shaft, and a system of resilient stays on said shaft adjacent said crown for effecting folding of the cover as the umbrella is telescopically collapsed and forming a mushroom shape from the cover adjacent the crown, the improvement in that said resilient stays comprise helical coil springs terminally connected to the shaft beneath said crown, said stays being bendable about a wire forming a coil attached to the shaft, said coil springs being connected to said shaft in an area within an axial projection of said crown and bendable substantially parallel to the shaft when collapsed for providing a minimum cross-section adjacent the crown when the umbrella is collapsed.

2. The structure as claimed in claim 1 in which said stays project radially from the shaft and are respectively disposed between the included angle of a respective pair of adjacent spokes.

3. The structure as claimed in claim 2 in which said cover includes a plurality of seams radiating from said crown, said respective resilient stays underlying the respective seams of said cover.

4. The structure as claimed in claim 3 in which said helical spring stays include a distal loop for minimizing wear on the cover as the umbrella is opened and closed.

5. The structure as claimed in claim 1 in which a mounting element is mounted on said shaft beneath the crown, said mounting element being disposed beneath an axial projection of said crown, and means integrally molded about the terminal end of the coil springs of the stays in the mounting element whereby the stays are foldable within the axial projection of the crown and provide a minimal cross-section at said crown.

6. The structure as claimed in claim 1 in which said coil spring stays have a flattened cross-section to further reduce the space occupied about the shaft when the umbrella is collapsed.

7. An umbrella having a telescopic shaft, a crown, at one end of the shaft and having a predetermined area, a plurality of spokes adapted for pivotal movement relative to the crown from an umbrella closed position. wherein the spokes are close to and parallel to the shaft, to an umbrella open position wherein the spokes are spread out from the shaft, a main slider running on the shaft, stretcher means hinged to the runner and the spokes for pivotably moving the spokes, a cover connected between the crown and spokes, resilient stays arranged in a radial plane from the shaft for folding the umbrella cover into a mushroom form when the umbrella is in a closed and shortened position, the resilient 8. An umbrella as defined in claim 7, wherein the coil spring stays are flattened and having substantially an elliptical cross-section.

9. An umbrella as claimed in claim 7, wherein the respective stays are located intermediately between an included angle between respective adjacent pairs of the spokes. 

1. In a telescopic umbrella including a telescopic shaft, a crown at one end of the shaft, spokes adapted to pivot relative to the crown a cover attached to the crown and the spokes, at least a main runner mounted on the shaft, support means operatively connected between said main runner and said spokes for effecting pivoting movement of said spokes relative to said shaft, and a system of resilient stays on said shaft adjacent said crown for effecting folding of the cover as the umbrella is telescopically collapsed and forming a mushroom shape from the cover adjacent the crown, the improvement in that said resilient stays comprise helical coil springs terminally connected to the shaft beneath said crown, said stays being bendable about a wire forming a coil attached to the shaft, said coil springs being connected to said shaft in an area within an axial projection of said crown and bendable substantially parallel to the shaft when collapsed for providing a minimum cross-section adjacent the crown when the umbrella is collapsed.
 2. The structure as claimed in claim 1 in which said stays project radially from the shaft and are respectively disposed between the included angle of a respective pair of adjacent spokes.
 3. The structure as claimed in claim 2 in which said cover includes a plurality of seams radiating from said crown, said respective resilient stays underlying the respective seams of said covEr.
 4. The structure as claimed in claim 3 in which said helical spring stays include a distal loop for minimizing wear on the cover as the umbrella is opened and closed.
 5. The structure as claimed in claim 1 in which a mounting element is mounted on said shaft beneath the crown, said mounting element being disposed beneath an axial projection of said crown, and means integrally molded about the terminal end of the coil springs of the stays in the mounting element whereby the stays are foldable within the axial projection of the crown and provide a minimal cross-section at said crown.
 6. The structure as claimed in claim 1 in which said coil spring stays have a flattened cross-section to further reduce the space occupied about the shaft when the umbrella is collapsed.
 7. An umbrella having a telescopic shaft, a crown, at one end of the shaft and having a predetermined area, a plurality of spokes adapted for pivotal movement relative to the crown from an umbrella closed position, wherein the spokes are close to and parallel to the shaft, to an umbrella open position wherein the spokes are spread out from the shaft, a main slider running on the shaft, stretcher means hinged to the runner and the spokes for pivotably moving the spokes, a cover connected between the crown and spokes, resilient stays arranged in a radial plane from the shaft for folding the umbrella cover into a mushroom form when the umbrella is in a closed and shortened position, the resilient stays being connected to mounting means on the stick adjacent the crown and having an area smaller than the area of the crown, the resilient stays comprising coil springs having a bending radius such that when the stays are bent and parallel to the shaft they are disposed within an axial projection of the area of the crown at a given plane perpendicular to the shaft, without the coil springs being kinked.
 8. An umbrella as defined in claim 7, wherein the coil spring stays are flattened and having substantially an elliptical cross-section.
 9. An umbrella as claimed in claim 7, wherein the respective stays are located intermediately between an included angle between respective adjacent pairs of the spokes. 